-=> Quoting Sondra Ball to Robin Arnhold <=-
Hi, Sondra,
 RA>I'm glad your friend finally found a church, community, and schools
 >where
 >racism is not the rule of the day.  It is a sad commentary on the
 >churches, though, that in three out of four of them, the racists held
 >sway, although one of my mother's friends would say that those are the
 >type that really need to be in church.
 SB> 
 SB> Grin!  Your mother is probably right.  My friend is a Methodist
 SB> minister.  Right now, the ministerium of the Methodist church is
 SB> actively seeking ways to eliminate racism in the churches, with
 SB> varying degrees of success.  But the history of the United Methodist
 SB> churches on racism, like the history of most white protestant churches,
 SB> is not good. Fifty to seventy years ago, the local Methodist churches
 SB> were rallying places for the KKK.  A number of them have stained glass
 SB> window panes donated to the churches by the local KKK groups.  That's
 SB> even true of the church my friend currently is minister of, although
 SB> the congregation of the church itself is really not particularly racist
 SB> these days, and should not be judged by its shady and bloody past.  A
 SB> member of that church recently asked my friend, "Why is it that
 SB> non-whites almost never become members of the United Methodist Chruch."
 SB> He told her, "Well, considering the fact that in the thirites and
 SB> fourties, the church would be full to overflowing on nights that the
 SB> KKK met, maybe it still has a bad reputation to live down."  She did
 SB> not believe him.  He took her back to the church archives, and showed
 SB> her the proof; and took her to the stained glass window that the KKK
 SB> had given to the church. 
Like you I tend to find it amazing that a religion can encompass a Mother
Theresa and others like her as well as the KKK and neo-Nazi types.  Even
move amazing, both types claim their actions derive from their religious
beliefs.
Take care,
Robin
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